If you asked the public whether they would prefer smaller class sizes in schools, better health care or fatter pay packets for civil servants, our government workers would inevitably be the losers. But in these days of surpluses and with an economy that is humming along, it isn't necessarily an either/or situation.
The results of a government-commissioned survey made public this week, which suggests its 155,000-strong workforce is due a pay rise of 4 to 5 per cent, has been met with quiet acceptance by most political parties. The first pay rise since 2001, it is subject to approval by the Executive Council and Legislative Council.
The rise would be based on the government's annual pay trend survey, which this year found better-than-expected increases in the private sector. On balance, while the pay rise looks a little on the high side, a rise is justified after the pay freezes and pay cuts of recent years - with some important caveats attached.
A rise should not be used to divert attention or energy away from the continued need to create a leaner civil service. Greater use needs to be made of technology and outsourcing and considerable reform of what is a bloated organisation is still needed.
The establishment is well down on the 198,000 civil servants the government employed in 2000, and the remuneration bill has fallen; spending has dropped 5 percentage points in the past five years, to 31 per cent of total government spending. Still, the proportion is more than twice that spent by wealthy countries.
While pay rises may be granted, pay cuts must also be accepted. Raising civil servants' pay will add billions of dollars to recurrent expenditure; that is hard to manage when revenue drops in a downturn. Granting pay rises adds to inflationary pressures because the recipients have more disposable income, and risks a widening of the rich-poor gap.